Grist for the Mill

Dear Reader,

As I sit down to write to you in keen anticipation of the summer season, Rhode Island has just passed a momentous milestone: Vaccinations surpassed 1 million doses into the arms of Rhode Islanders. It’s an important achievement because of its significance for our battered hospitality industry, not to mention our hardworking frontline workers, teachers and so many others who work with the public day in and day out.

Let’s keep that number rising! It’s an essential step on the road back to normalcy, something we’ve been dreaming about for over a year now, along with the ability to return to dining out with friends and family and traveling the Ocean State in search of our favorite foods and flavors.

Stories in this issue will inspire your summer adventures, including a Rhode Trip through the historic village of Wakefield. It’s an edible guide to new food businesses that managed to open in the pandemic and the village mainstays that are ready to welcome you with tasty food and beverage options, plus plenty of ice cream for dessert!

Learn about one contributor’s breakfast challenge and the year she spent eating the most important meal of the day in nearly every city and town in Rhode Island. Post-Covid reflections from several of the chefs and owners of those cafés and diners capture what it has been like for small businesses to survive in the most challenging of circumstances. After reading, you’ll want to head out for breakfast at any one—or several!—of the 38 spots that made the list.

This story and the images that accompany it herald an exciting multi-platform event to be hosted by the Wickford Art Association this coming September. Mark your calendars for FoodWorks! It’s a one-of-a-kind art event that honors Rhode Island’s resilient and creative local food producers. You won’t want to miss the gallery exhibition, the outdoor food and art market and much more planned to please your palate.

Our cover story on oyster farmers is a story of determination and innovation as two aquafarmers take stock after the sharp decline in sales during the shutdown. Now, at last, oyster sales are rising to new levels—a signal that restaurants are serving more customers and larger events are being held. Slurping down those briny bivalves on a summer’s day is surely one of the best ways to enjoy the flavors of the Ocean State—and to support your local farmers.

As you scroll through the pages of this issue, you’ll notice something new to the magazine this season: the Edible Communities Signature Section. We are proud to offer this special insert as the first in an ongoing series that will explore food-related topics on sustainability, hunger, regenerative agriculture and restaurant revitalization. We know you will find food for thought as you digest articles of national and global consequence—they all lead back to local issues and how we choose to build better food systems going forward, right here in Li’l Rhody.

Dig in!